5 Reasons the Boston Celtics survived Game 1 vs. New York Knicks

Associated PressTake a guess what (or should I say who) the number one reason the Celtics won is.

5. Rebounding:
Kevin Garnett led the way with 13 rebounds, but the Celtics attacked the glass as a unit. Rajon Rondo had nine rebounds, Ray Allen grabbed 6 rebounds, and Glen Davis snatched five rebounds. Boston out rebounded New York 44-34 and snared 15 extra possession on offensive rebounds.

“We just got to limit those offensive rebounds," former Celtics Bill Walker said. "We had enough stops to win the game and get out of here. We just let Rondo get a couple; KG had 3 in a row in one possession. We just got to eliminate that and I think we’ll be fine.”

4. Paul Pierce's defense on Carmelo Anthony:
Anthony orchestrated a second-quarter charge in which the Knicks outscored the Celtics 28-15, but he clanged his shots the rest of the way and missed the potential game-winning three-pointer. Anthony made just five of his 18 shots for 18 points.

For the most part, Pierce did a phenomenal job keeping Anthony in front of him and forcing contested jumpers. 11 of Anthony's 18 shots came from 15-feet or beyond. Pierce also did a good job avoiding fouls, sending Anthony to the line for only four free throws.

Even more importantly, Anthony kept jacking up shots, which kept the ball away from a virtually unstoppable Amare Stoudemire. Stoudemire scored 28 points, but he didn't touch the ball in crunch time.

"Kevin (Garnett) was draped all over him and pushing him down,"Anthony said. "We tried something else. We just couldn’t give him the ball I guess.

I have to look at the tape to be more specific about it. It wasn’t the game plan. (I didn’t say,) ‘Ok that’s enough Amar’e. We’ll go away from you.’ That just happens.”

3.Jermaine O'Neal:

I can't describe O'Neal's effort better than this, so I'll just turn it over to my brother, Jay, at Celticstown.com:

The Celtics can thank Jermaine O’Neal. No, seriously, the Celtics can thank Jermaine O’Neal. (They can also thank his surgeon, who clearly works miracles.) After a year of one setback after the next, one insult after the next (most of them directed by yours truly), O’Neal became everything the Celtics wanted. One person tweeted me to compare Jermaine’s output to J.D. Drew’s grand slam against the Indians back in 2007. That one play made J.D.’s whole disappointing existence worth it, just like Jermaine’s one night made his two-year, $12 million contract worth it. But with J.D., we suspected he would go right back to staring harmlessly at third strikes the next night. We figured he would never live up to his contract again. With Jermaine, finally healthy, moving his feet like a new man, blocking shots and contesting shots and taking charges (and, this goes against my point though it’s worth mentioning, getting dunked on when Amare emphatically sprouted wings), there’s hope this could become more than a one-night stand. There’s hope Jermaine could begin to provide this on a nightly basis, even if I’m crossing my fingers and knocking on wood while typing this sentence.

2. Doc Rivers' play-calling:

After Toney Douglas (Toney Douglas!) swished a three-pointer with 37.3 seconds left to put New York ahead 85-82, Doc Rivers called a timeout. Rivers is a maestro at calling plays out of timeouts, and Sunday night was no different. In-bounding from half court, Rondo lobbed the ball to Garnett for an easy alley-oop, cutting the Knick lead to just one.

“We just didn’t communicate real well on that," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "I think it was a back pick. He got picked and AC (Anthony Carter) was really worried about Ray Allen going out. (It was) a tough play (and) a good play for them."

After a dubious offensive foul on Anthony, Rivers called a play he's gone to many times before. Allen in-bounded the ball to Pierce, then ran to the opposite side of the court with the help of a flare screen from Garnett.

"We've run that play many times," Allen said. "It's a play that has so many options and tonight I was just the option."

1. Ray Allen

Not only did Ray Allen sink the game-winning three-pointer, he also scored a team-high 24 points. Allen had been struggling with his shot recently, but he got some easy looks in transition which helped him establish a rhythm throughout the game.

"Once we settled in and played the type of basketball that we are capable of playing," Allen said, "I knew I’d find our comfort zones. You guys have been asking me for a couple of weeks about me shooting the ball and I said rhythm. Its all about rhythm."